Edge shearing device for pile mats



May 6, 1970 s. FURINESS, JR,, ETTAL 3,513,514

EDGE SHEARING DEVICE FOR FILE MATS Filed July 10, 1968 FIG.|

0 WW0 R w w mFH m United States Patent 3,513,514 EDGE SHEARING DEVICEFOR PILE MATS Samuel Furiness, Jr., 63 Stemmer Drive 07066, and RobertH. Roland, 22 Holly Glen Lane, Berkeley Heights 07922, both of Clark,NJ.

Filed July 10, 1968, Ser. No. 743,767 Int. Cl. D06c 13/00, 23/02 US. Cl.26-15 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A machine for removing pilefrom the edge of mats having a sheet base onto which a fiber pile isattached, consists of a housing having a side opening and a bottomplate. In the housing, a downwardly-projecting driven shaft is mounted,and a rotary cutting blade is attached to the shaft above the plate,with its outermost edge projecting through the opening of the housing.The innermost edge of the blade is raised about 0.08" to 0.12" above theoutermost edge. Pressure fingers mounted on the plate hold the mat edgeagainst the plate during the cutting operation.

Background of the invention In recent years, outdoor link mats have beengradually replaced by mats having a plastic or rubber base onto which aweather-resistant pile of nylon or similar synthetic fiber is attached.The usual base is a sheet of vinyl polymer having a thickness of about0.1. Such mats are usually made in rolls of, say 3 ft. width, and thesides of such mats have an edge of bare vinyl plastic of about 1" width.When a mat of desired length is cut from such a roll, it is apparentthat the two ends will not have the bare plastic edging like the sides,but will have the pile showing to the very edge of the mat. In order togive the mat a uniform appearance and proper trim, it has been thepractice to attach to these edges a strip of bare plastic to match thesides.

These plastic edging strips have been applied either by cementing orheat sealing them to the plastic base at the edge of the mat. However,after some use, it has been found that such heat sealed or cementededgings break away from the mat with a consequent tripping hazard, orunsightly mat being presented. Also, during cleaning of these mats, suchedging has a tendency to break off where the mat is being grasped by theedging. Another disadvantage of such edgings is that they are notadapted for use on arcuate or circular edges or on mats having intricateshapes. A further objection is that the application of such edging isexpensive. There has been need for some way of providing such edgingwhich will not involve these inconveniences, dangers and disadvantages.

Summary of the invention According to the present invention, a machinehas been developed which employs a rotary cutting blade operating athigh speed. This blade is mounted in a downwardly-directed shaft housinghaving a bottom plate over which the mat edge ispulled. The bladeprojects beyond the housing and is adjusted to just clear the plasticbase of the mat so that, as the mat edge is pulled on the bottom plate,the pile at the mat edge is cut off by the blade for the requireddistance. By tilting the blade upwardly for a distance of about 0.08" to0.12", at the innermost edge, burning of the mat by friction is avoided.

By this means, it has been found possible to effect a proper edging onthe mat ends, which edging has the "ice same strength as the edging onthe sides. Also, the operation is less expensive, and no deteriorationor damage results during the cleaning of the mat. Furthermore, thecutting operation is just as easily performed on mats having intricateshapes, so that there is no necessity for special plastic edgings as hasbeen the case heretofore.

Brief description of the drawings The invention will be more readilyunderstood by reference to the accompanying drawing in which a preferredembodiment is described, and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a top or plan view of a preferred embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 2 depicts a side elevational view thereof.

FIG. 3 presents an enlarged top cross-sectional view taken along theplane of line 33 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 shows an enlarged cross-sectional front view taken along theplane of 4-4 in FIG. 3.

The same numerals refer to similar parts in the various figures.

Description of the preferred embodiments Referring to the drawing,numeral 10 indicates generally a machine for providing an edging onmats, according to the present invention. It involves a housing 11having a motor section 12, a switch section 13, and a rotor section 14,from the side of the latter of which projects a handle 15. A cord 16 isused to plug into a source of electric current. The motor, switch androtary drive are of conventional design, and a trigger switch 17 hasbeen found most convenient for the operation.

The rotor housing 14 has a driven shaft 18 mounted in adownwardly-directed housing 19. T o the bottom of this shaft isattached, by means of nut 20, a rotary cutting blade 21, which projectsthrough a cut-olf portion 19 of the shaft housing 19. Blade 21 is raisedabove the bottom plate 22 of housing 19 for the required distance tojust clear the plastic base 23 of mat 24, from which projects upwardlythe pile 25 to be cut. Since the blade 21 rotates at a speed of about1950 r.p.1n., it has been found desirable to raise the innermost edge 21of blade 21 about 0.01" higher than the outermost edge 21" of the blade.This eliminates burning or heating up of the mat or base because offriction. A stationary fiat cover plate 26 is also disposed over most ofthe projecting blade portion 21" as a safety precaution.Downwardly-depressing spring fingers 27, 28 and 29 have their rearwardends mounted on support 30 attached to shaft housing bottom plate 22 (byscrews 31), and these fingers press mat 24 down against plate 22 as themat is pushed forwardly for the shearing operation. The mat is pushed orpulled forwardly in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3, and, as theedge 32 of the mat passes under blade edge 21" (FIG. 4), the blade cutsoff the pile from the plastic edge 32 for the desired distance.

It has been found that, for most mats, a blade of 4" diameter issatisfactory. Such a blade is desirably of hollow ground steel having athickness of about 0.049". The blade edge 21" projects beyond guardplate 26 for a distance of about Ma". The aforementioned tilt of blade21 is for a distance of about 0.08 to 0.12", with respect to oppositeedges of the blade.

We claim:

1. A machine, as described, for shearing the edge of a mat having asheet base onto which a fiber pile is attached, comprising:

a housing having a side opening and a bottom plate,

a downwardly-directed driven shaft mounted in said housing,

a rotary'cutting blade munted on said shaft above said plate and havingan edge projecting through said opening and having its innermost edgedisposed somewhat higher than its outermost edge, in a manner such that,as a mat edge is fed on said plate under said outermost blade edge, saidblade edge may clear said mat base and eut oil the pile therefrom forthe required distance.

2. Amachine, according to claim 1, in which said plate is provided witha'raised riiounting on which are mounted spring fingers designed topress said mat onto said plate as said mat edge is fed under said blade.

3. A machine, according to claim 1, in which the innermost edge of saidblade is raised for a distance of about 0.08" to about 0.12" above theoutermost edge.

UNITED References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS 1830 Great Britain.

STATES PATENTS Brown Z' 26-15 Schoenfeld 83666 XR Cook 2 5-7 Brownlow eta1.

Scranton et 211. 26-104 ROBERT R. MACKEY, Primary Examiner

